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Label:Large and small hand drums were used for Nō plays. This type of lacquered drum was especially popular during the Momoyama period. The pear and pear leaves have several holes, implying the existence of a bird or birds that may have bitten into them.

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Gifts in Honor of the 125th Anniversary of the Philadelphia Museum of Art

This spectacular object, acquired in honor of the 125th Anniversary of the Museum, showcases one of the two major types of Japanese lacquerware made in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, negoro and Ködai-ji makie-e.

Ködai-ji makie-e lacquer takes its name from a temple, the Ködai-ji in Kyoto, where the decorative technique known as makie-e (sprinkled picture) was featured prominently. On this small hourglass-shaped hand drum (kozutsumi), the lacquer artist has created a bold design of pear leaves and fruit in varying shades of gold against a deep black background. The outlines of the fruit appear in thin gold lacquer lines, and the motifs are filled in with a light dusting of gold powder (makie-e). The simplicity and clarity of the design make this small hand drum seem much larger than it actually is. Felice Fischer, from Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gifts in Honor of the 125th Anniversary (2002), p. 17.